Mutts
Mutts is a newspaper comic created by Patrick McDonnell; it was started in 1994 and is still running as of May 2020.
The comic centers around a dog (Earl) and a cat (Mooch), their owners, and the many humans and animals in their neighborhood. Patrick McDonnell is a strong supporter of animal rights who sits on the board of the Humane Society; this flavors both the strip and the website.
Tropes used in Mutts include:
- Big Friendly Dog: Woofy wuvs * insert thing here* !, normally following an instance of him frenziedly licking whatever he's talking about.
- Butterfly of Transformation: After seeing a caterpillar going through a metamorphosis, Mooch thinks about change, even concluding that Earl might become a cat.
- Cloudcuckoolander: Mooch
- Crossover: When Blondie celebrated the Bumsteads 60th Anniversay in 2005 Earl and Mooch could be seen with other King Features characters on Blondie and Dagwood's front lawn. In the Mutts comic for that day we see their owner getting an invite to the gala as Earl trips up the oddly familiar looking Mailman.
- Fang Thpeak: Mooch.
- Gentle Giant: The Guard Dog.
- Green Aesop
- Humans Are the Real Monsters: Probably not intentional but some of the more Anvilicious moments may have this effect.
- Jerkass: Sourpuss
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Crabby
- Also Frank.
- Loads and Loads of Characters: Start here.
- Meaningful Name: Sourpuss and Crabby. Guess their respective species and disposition.
- Nursery Rhyme
- Personal Raincloud: Sourpuss gets one when complaining of whether the clouds would decide to rain or not.
- Pet the Dog: Quite literally.
- Shout-Out: In many Sunday strips, the title panel will sometimes contain a reference of some sort.
- A Running Gag is Sourpuss's hatred of mondays.
- Straight Man: Earl, to Mooch's Wise Guy.
- Sugar Bowl: Most of the time.
- Superior Species: Animals in relation to humans.
- When It Rains, It Pours: Black lines attack during rain.